At the Hemsworth Town Council meeting on August 4th 2022 the public managed to elicit seemingly contradictory responses from our Independent cabal Town councillors.
They managed, during public questions to strike them firstly dumb and then managed to rouse Graham Hirst from his slumbering.
However the noises that came from his mouth were to say the least astonishing.
03 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME
To receive questions (pertaining to the committee’s remit) from members of the public (extracts below)
Re – LP proposed development of the football fields at Highfield’s for Housing.
(Paraphrased)
Question: Have you all got the updated details for Highfield’s Development?
Councillors response: …………Silence
Question: Councillor Folletti has left – Who are the other Councillors that represent this ward?
Independent Cabal Councillors Hirst and Mitchell.
So, they should now be doing this – What are you doing?
Are you representing your wards at these meetings?
Are you aware?
Hirst: NO
Question: Why are Councillors not aware?
Why are Councillors doing exactly the same re Highfield that you did with the woodlands?
If I can get the information why aren’t you doing anything?
This was met with applause from the public in attendance.
Question: – Why are you sitting there like dummies? …..Why sitting there like dummies?
Question: – Which Councillors should represent that area?
Hirst- I am South Ward.
Public – Why are you sitting there like a Dummy?
Hirst – I haven’t seen the plans.
Public: They are on your emails.
Ferret was amazed with Hirst response, it was straight out of the book of Ian Womersley.
Hirst – I haven’t read the emails yet.
Public – Closing date is 12th, so you better be quick.
Hirst – I haven’t seen the plans, then I will decide.
Public – You shouldn’t be a Councillor.
Hirst – It’s my opinion too. That’s not how it works it’s what I think, not what the community think.
Ferret thinks really, Cabal colours shining brightly through:
A councillors role is to represent the views of the community isn’t it?
Public: So you agree with the building then?
Hirst – No, I need to see the full plans.
Public: – We had a meeting with the planning officer!
Hirst – I’ve got to see the plans first, I wasn’t at that meeting.
Ferret wonders how Hirst intends to be in a position to make a balanced or any judgement about the proposed redevelopment when he neither attends meetings with planning or meets with the people he is supposed to represent?
Public: Have you any intention of looking?
Hirst – I work full time. I won’t be bullied by you people in the audience. I have my own opinion.
I represent but don’t have to agree with the majority.
Well that explains it then, Hirst says he is too busy to read emails as he works full time, attend meetings with officials or with his community.
Worse still, being held accountable by the public, is now bullying, obviously asking him to do the job he has been elected to do is also bullying.
He also completely rejects that he is elected to represent the views of the community.
That explains his lack of any action to find out the views of the people he is elected by.
In his own words “he has his own opinion”
How he has come to that opinion, without seeking or reading the information readily available to him is disturbing.
Ferret believes that his own answers simply mean:
He is not interested in it or people’s concerns and has done exactly what he intends to do ….
NOTHING
Graham Hirst: Arrogance, Ignorance, Unread Emails and No Action.
This statement doesn’t go anywhere near the full and disturbing truth that being an Independent Cabal Councillor really means…… unless there is something in it for them…….
Of Course.
This was shocking! I couldn’t believe what he was saying. He has failed at number 1 in the Nolan principles. It is not his decision to make it is his electorates. He doesn’t have an opinion, he is there to speak for them. He should have signed his resignation on the way out, because if he hasn’t time to read emails as he ‘works full time’ he can’t do the job he is required to do.
Also is the silence the new way of answering questions as this is how it has been recently. He only answered last week because the lady kept asking and asking.
So “sir fooletti” took his ball in (resigned) when he was asked to do his job. Now Mr Hirst is complaining he’s been asked to do the job he was elected to do.
What did/do they not get about being a town councillor? What did they think the job entailed?
Don’t put yourself up for a job you know you are incapable of, most of us don’t have the time to give to doing such a job which is why we don’t put ourselves forward.
One other thing, do non of them realise they are making themselves very disliked and that when this all finally blows up they are going to be remembered for destroying our community. If they think the questioning is hard now I suggest they man up damn quick.
I can’t get my head round how they think they are still pulling the wool over our eyes. They’re being pulled up over things time and time again, it must be getting claustrophobic in that tightening net.
Sitting there silent, deliberately not reading emails is not a get out clause. You are not doing your jobs you are failing yourselves and the community and the buck is after his final resting place.
We all have a voice and whatever flag you fly Red,Blue,Green,Independant we as a community must use it if we are to come together as a community and put Fitzwilliam,Kinsley,Hemsworth residents needs first and remember why you chose to become a councillor to serve your community serve your ward and put their needs and expectations first remember The Nolan Principles.Time and time again residents turn up to to HTC meetings and see the same councillors just sat never speak can’t or won’t answer questions that we as the public do have a right to ask and time and time again see the same hard working councillors who give their all to this community and serve the community .We all have a responsibility to help make changes see that our community is served by the people that after all we are responsible for voting the councillors in to serve the needs to serve the people that need help and in these sad times this community as never needed more help just look how many of the community need our wonderful food banks ,clothes banks charities trying to help they are serving this community and it’s time more of the councillors did and bring this community together .No more excuses the public are tired of hearing them it is The Town Clerks responsibility to distribute very Important Emails to All our elected councillors and more importantly councillors read and act on them for the community otherwise the community will continue to use their voices and question their actions or non actions we ALL are entitled to attend the HTC meetings we all have a voice and A VOTE.
As one of the people who spoke at the meeting in response to Councillor Hirst’s statements, I have to say I am getting increasingly uncomfortable. Not, with the public rightly calling in to account ignorance and ineptitude being repeatedly shown by our councillors in these meetings. I have no issue with that. Councillors should ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities. They should ensure that they can give full commitment to their constituents. And, when councillors hold opinions and views which are diametrically at odds with the views and wishes of the people they purport to represent they should declare these openly, and seriously consider whether they are indeed the right people to represent us. This is exactly the point I was trying to help Councillor Hirst understand when I spoke out.
Julie took a similar line, and eloquently and passionately exposed the lack of care that some councillors show by not attending meetings or nominating others to attend in their absence.
But, we both only wish to have councilors who put the interests of the community before themselves.
Where I am uncomfortable is with the personalising. Councillor Hirst very wrongly accused me and others of being against the building of houses. I worked for approximately 35 years in a profession that is person centred and concerned with meeting individual and community needs. Julie similarly worked with people.
We would not stand against something that is in the interests of the people. It’s not in our natures.
But, what we are opposed to is essentially the sacrifice of socially and environmentally important spaces, when there is so much other available land on which to build houses. Please read again the Local Plan 2036, and take account of the comments made by other parties in respect to WMDC endlessly chasing after green belt land, and leaving other land it has acquired to fester. Land that could be built on.
We honestly believe that in both the short and the long term the houses that they will put up on LP21 and in Highfields will have a negative impact on our already stretched local resources, lead to further road congestion and higher levels of air pollution, as well as threatening an already fragile ecosystem and wildlife. Beyond these concerns, there is the potential impact on mental wellbeing of existing residents who have lived here for many years and invested heavily in their homes. Both in terms of hopes, dreams, memories and money. Then, there’s the potential for the loss of strong regional identities as we all become part of one big urban sprawl.
Is it worth it?
Back to the personalisation… I have nothing against any of the Councillors. Some serve us well. But, we seem to be attacking the characters of each other. And for me, it’s getting uncomfortable now. It’s not about arrogance as I see it. Rather it is about ignorance. Our councillors remain ignorant of their responsibilities and their obligations. How often do we see them turning to the Clerk for guidance? Only for him not to have the answers. And saying he will check it out.
Councillor Hirst, it appears to me, has training needs. Other councillors appear to have different training needs. Including how to Chair meetings, and how to conduct yourself in public proceedings. But, who on earth provides them with the help they seem to nerd? We elect them, and then it looks to me we just leave them all at sea.
I feel like I am going on too much. So. I will cut it short. For me this Councillor made a mistake. And that is through the lack of training and guidance. But we have a council that is fragmented and in which individuals are clearly at odds with each other. Sometimes because of party politics, and maybe sometimes because of other differences. Until they sort out this mess, the meetings will continue to be as destructive as they gave been.
Sorry, if I’ve upset anyone with this post. But, I just hope that we can start to pull together. Because it really should be all about Hemsworth, Kinsley and Fitzwilliam.
Regards